American Gaming Association (AGA) President and CEO Bill Miller released the following statement on bipartisan legislation introduced today by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) that would repeal the federal sports betting excise tax on legal operators:

“The federal sports betting excise tax was enacted more than 70 years ago as a tool to prosecute illegal sports betting operators. Today, with sports betting legal in 38 states and Washington, D.C., this antiquated tax puts legal operators at a competitive disadvantage and rewards illegal offshore bookmakers that pay no federal or state taxes, offer no responsible gaming tools, and have no systems in place to prevent underage customers from using their platforms.

The AGA is grateful to Senators Cortez Masto and Hyde-Smith for their commitment to providing a safe, responsible sports betting market and to continuing to help migrate bettors out of the illegal market, which is bereft of consumer protections and a haven for bad actors and tax evaders. The AGA will continue to work with policymakers to enact legislation to address this harmful tax.”

Background

• The Internal Revenue Code currently imposes a federal excise tax of 0.25% on the amount of any legal sports wager, as well as an additional $50 annual head tax for every employee engaged in receiving wagers for or on behalf of any legal sports betting operator. This tax is applied to the amount wagered and not the revenue, unlike any other excise tax. Meanwhile, the $50 head tax on each sportsbook employee further discourages job creation.
• Established in 1951, the excise tax was never intended to be a revenue source, but rather a tool for prosecuting illegal bookmaking operations that did not pay the tax.
• Even before paying the federal excise tax, sportsbooks are low margin businesses with high operating costs including licensing fees, state taxes and other compliance expenses.